Category Archives: ‘C’ Coding

In this article I will endeavour to show how to detect colours with an Arduino connected to the TCS230/TCS3200 colour sensor.

The TCS3200 colour sensor can detect a wide variety of colours based on their wavelength. This sensor is specially useful for colour recognition projects such as colour matching, colour sorting, test strip reading and much more.

This article is about my experiments with the WS2812B LED strip, which is an addressable RGB LED strip. This information should also work with other similar LED strips, such as strips of the WS28XX family, Neopixel strip, among others. The WS2812B addressable LED strip comes in several varieties that differ in size, sealant or LED density. Choose the one that best fits your purpose.

The BMP180 barometric sensor (model GY-68) in the following two images is a very small module with 10mm x 10.1mm (0.039in x 0.043in) footprint. This guide is also applicable for other similar barometric sensors.

The working principle of an ultrasonic sensor is simple and use high-frequency sound waves that are evaluated when the sensor received back the waves. To determine the distance between the robot and object, the sensor measure the elapsed time between sending and receiving the waves.

With this tutorial, you will be learn to access any keypad, and have it interact with a microcontroller. You can salvage these keypads from old telephones or you can purchase them from most electronics store for less than $2. They come in wide variety of shapes and sizes. The most commons sizes are 3×4 and 4×4, and you can get keypads with with words, letters and numbers written on the keys.

This Article shows a simple example on how to use the MFRC522 RFID reader, with a quick overview of the specifications, and a demonstration project using an Arduino.

I have started work on another Bridge for my LEGO Railway layout, but this time I have built a Dual Track (Line), Double-Leaf Bascule Railway Bridge. This does mean I will need to build yet another baseboard to house it on, but I have received a large heap of LEGO Train Track, so all should be fine.

A Bascule Bridge (commonly referred to as a drawbridge) is a movable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or “leaf”, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single or double leafed.

There are a variety of development environments that can be used to program the ESP8266. The ESP8266 community created an add-on for the Arduino IDE that allows you to program the ESP8266 using the Arduino IDE and its programming language.

This Article aims to be a comprehensive guide to the popular RF 433MHz Transmitter/Receiver modules. Information on how they work, some features, and an Arduino project example that you can take and apply to other projects.

A few days ago I received an EVShield from OpenElectrons (Mindsensors) to Beta test. The EVShield fits on top of an Arduino Microcontroller and operates in a similar manor to the LEGO Mindstorms EV3 Programmable Brick. The EVShield allows you to connect the full range of LEGO Mindstorms EV3 & NXT, Sensors and Motors to an Arduino Uno Board.

OpenElectrons.com have a new Arduino Shield being readied for release in the near future. You can use it to make Robots with ‘Arduino Brains‘, using either LEGO Mindstorms EV3 or NXT Motors, Sensors, and other Arduino compatible parts. If you wish, you can also attach a selection of available Arduino Shields on top of the EVShield.

I have just had 4 day up at Burnie on Tasmania’s North-west coast at the “Brixhibition Burnie” with my Robots. Among the robots I took was a OpenElectrons NXShield Powered Holonomic Platform which survived the abuse from the general public who where controlling it for some 18hrs, without it missing a beat.

I’m intending to use several Arduino Boards as a cheap means of controlling a number of RFID Readers which will be used to detect the position of Locomotive Engines on my LEGO Train Layout. That said I need a way of connecting these Arduinos to the Raspberry Pi which is the Master Controller for the layout.

The easiest way of Connecting an Arduino to a Raspberry PI is using USB, however the PI’s USB ports are need for WiFi Keyboard, Mouse, etc. So in many cases USB is out, especially if you are using a Raspberry Pi Model ‘A’.

Need LEGO Parts, Manual, …

Isaac Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics":

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

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